First Time On WSM (Long)


 
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Well I used my WSM for the first time and I thought that i would share my results with you all. I did a pair of Spares which I trimmed to a St. Louis cut, washed in vinegar, and rubbed. Unfortunately due to my work schedule I was not able to let them sit overnight, so I let them warm up to room temp while i started the coals. I started a full chimney of coals and waited until they were grey and ashed over before pouring them into the Chamber. I then added my water into the water pan and put my ribs on. I kept the top vent open and cut back on the bottom vents until my grate temp was showing around 230 and stable. I probably made a big mistake by adding my wood at this point. I added 4 chunks of pecan wood to my fire. The positive side is that I am very impressed by the way that the WSM retained the heat and I liked the control that I had over the temperature. I used a Polder thermometer, so monitoring the temperature was a cinch. I took the ribs off after 4 1/2 hours, the texture was good, the bones were pulling away, but they tasted HORRIBLE!!! My wife insists that she has had worse in restaurants and she is probably right, I definately either used too much wood, or I added the wood at the wrong time and got too much smoke. Actually they weren't all that bad with sauce on them but I was dissappointed to say the least. The good news is that this is an easily cureable problem, and I am positive that my next try will be better. Anyway I just wanted to share this with you all. I think that I will try again on Monday since i have the day off. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Happy 'Quing
Derek
 
Derek..

FWIW, I always think it is good to screw up your first batch!! LOL My screw-ups lasted a whole year!!! That was long before any BBQ Forum's were around.

Sounds like you did everything right. The only possibility is you didn't cook them long enough. 4 1/2 hours for spares is much too short. I have taken as long as 8 hours to do spares, especially at the lower temps and if they are really big(which most of them are!). I cook my baby backs for 6 hours.

The meat should pull back from the bone a good 1/2-1 inch. As for smoke, you added it at the right time and seem to have used the right amount. Remember, meat will only absorb smoke up to a temp of 140 degrees. That means you must put the smoke on early in the cooking process. Also, I have never used Pecan, perhaps it is too strong?? Others will chime in on that. I have always used fruit wood(apple and pear) when cooking my ribs.

Beware!!! If you have never tasted "REAL" BBQ, it is MUCH smokier than most retaurants!! This can be quite a different taste if you have never tried it before. I use very little smoke when I cook just for the family.

Don't be discouraged..at the recent BigPigJig, I took a slab of the winning ribs back to share with some friends and they thought they were too smoky!! Go figure!

Just keep on trying! Keep on posting and let us help you out!

Stogie
 
Stogie,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Next time I will cook them longer, although they were pulling back from the bone and they were very tender. I grew up in Massachusetts so I probably have no idea what "real" barbeque should taste like. I have also never smoked with wood chunks, only chips, so this may be another factor. All in all I was very encouraged by my cooking session, but the taste was not what I expected. Again, this is easily fixed for the next time. I can't wait to try again. Thanks again for the encouragement and I'll keep you posted.
Happy 'Quing!
Derek
 
Derek
What was the flavor you didn't like if
it was bitter, it could be a couple of things. The use of too much wood or if while trying to control pit temp if you closed the
bottom vents too far you could have a made cresote from a air starved burn.
Let us know what the flavor was and we can
possibly help come up with the correction.
If the ribs were tender then the cook time was more than likely ok at the temp you cooked. I cook spares from 5 to 7 hours, at higher pit temp they cook faster.
I would not have used as much wood as you did, two fist size chunks for that cook.
Unlike Stogie while competing I've found that heavily smoked meat has not done well.

One thing to keep in mind, while your starting out, use less wood on one cook and then try an additional chunk the next. That
way you can dscide how much smoke you and your family and friends like.
Jim
 
Hello Jim,
The flavor of the meat was a flat woodsy taste which basically drowned out the natural flvor of the meat and the spices, etc. In short it was almost like eating a piece of wood. I tend to agree with your opinion that I may have used too much wood. I am not that discouraged because I feel that had I used chips or no wood at all I would have been raving about how good they tasted. My question is should I have let the wood sit on the fire for a while before adding the meat? I can't help thinking that this may have been my problem. I'm thinking of doing a chicken tonight to see how that will turn out. If not I will definitely Q on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks again for the tips.

Derek
 
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